Chapter 27: Don’t Let Me See You in Suzhou

The next morning, I left Hengdian and returned to Suzhou in the afternoon. I went to the company immediately and reported everything to my manager, Chen Jingming. The matter regarding the GUCCI promotional poster photoshoot was eventually resolved along with Leyao’s promise to me.

On this evening after work, I sat in the office for a long time without leaving. Having moved out of the place I had lived in for over two years, a sense of panic from having nowhere to go constantly haunted me.

Actually, habits can be really terrifying. My current pain entirely stems from habit—being used to the love that Jianwei once gave me, and the warmth and comfort that house once provided.

I somewhat don’t understand what has been going on all these years. Why do I always end up losing the most precious things in my life, while gaining so little?

Perhaps I already know the answer, but I’m just unwilling to admit it. I comforted myself by thinking: At least there’s some hope in my work now, and progress in my career will certainly make life better in the future. So, I should pull myself together and prepare to embrace a new life.

After leaving the company, I didn’t go looking for a new place to live. Instead, I decided to temporarily stay at Luoben’s place. At least during the nights, two lonely and disillusioned men could chat about music and the absurdities of life.

…

Wandering aimlessly on the street, bored out of my mind, I decided to go to the bar to find Luoben and have a few more drinks.

Without hesitation, I immediately hailed a taxi and headed straight to the bar where Luoben performed.

Arriving at the bar, the atmosphere was still the same—bright lights and dancing crowds. I simply found a relatively quiet corner to sit down.

Luoben came over with a few bottles of beer, sat down opposite me, and handed me a bottle, asking, “I thought you’d quit this place for good. Why are you back?”

I glanced around and joked, “Just came here to soak in some decadent vibes. I’ve been living too comfortably lately!”

Luoben tapped his bottle against mine and laughed, asking, “You’re just used to a hard life. What’s wrong with living a little comfortably?”

I also smiled, raised my bottle slightly, and said, “That’s the realm of life. Young comrade, you still need to gradually grasp it… Cheers!”

Luoben laughed, shrugged, took a sip with me, then asked, “You went to Hengdian to find Leyao yesterday, right?”

“I was so secretive about it. How did you know?” I asked, surprised.

“I chatted with Leyao on WeChat today. She said you showed up.”

“Actually, I really went to Hengdian for work. GUCCI is setting up a counter in our department store, and they specifically wanted Leyao to shoot promotional posters for their products. This thankless task just fell on me,” I said, taking another sip of beer.

“No wonder Leyao said she was excited for nothing. She probably initially thought you were coming especially to see her.”

“Even if I were coming especially for her, it would have been on the weekend.”

Luoben nodded and didn’t ask further. We drank another bottle of beer, chatted a bit more, and then he left—he was about to go onstage for his performance.

More and more people came to the bar for entertainment. I still sat in the corner, sipping my beer, spacing out from time to time. Scenes with Leyao from that night vaguely appeared in my mind. I felt a bit sad, confused by this sadness, yet it was real.

Onstage, Luoben and another female singer performed one of his self-written songs. Sporadic applause broke out in the crowd. Finally, my attention was drawn in. I began snapping my fingers along with the rhythm of the music.

Actually, Luoben is a very talented folk singer, but he values artistic integrity too much. He refuses to write commercially flavored pop songs or participate in overexposed talent shows, so he has remained relatively unknown, singing in bars all these years with a modest life. However, he doesn’t seem to mind this kind of hardship. He often says, “Playing music doesn’t necessarily mean seeking fame, but it must come from inner persistence.”

Even after knowing each other for many years, I still don’t know exactly what his persistence is, but that doesn’t stop me from admiring him.

…

As the music played, my phone vibrated in my pocket. Still snapping my fingers to the rhythm, I took out the phone and answered the call without checking the number.

It was Fangyuan on the line. He seemed to hear the noise from the bar and said to me, “Zhaoyang, are you messing around in a bar again?”

“Enjoy your honeymoon and stop worrying about me,” I said, standing up from my seat and swaying with the rhythm of the music along with the crowd.

“Which bar are you at? I’ll come find you.”

“Aren’t you and Yanyan in Sanya?” I asked, confused.

“It’s been raining heavily in Sanya for these past few days. We’ll go later.”

“Later? Will you still have enough time off for your honeymoon?”

“I won’t be traveling for long. It’ll be enough… Don’t talk nonsense, just tell me quickly which bar you’re at.”

“Suhe Bar, come on over. I’ll buy you a drink.”

“Then you better prepare plenty of cash. Yanyan is coming too, along with Jianwei and Xiangchen.”

Hearing the names Jianwei and Xiangchen, my heart quivered. I stood there stunned for a while before cursing, “Have you gone nuts from your wedding? Why are you bringing them?”

“What are you getting so excited about? Haven’t the five of us been together in years? Besides, you have a girlfriend now, right? Why don’t you invite her to hang out with us and stop thinking about all that messy past stuff.”

“Who told you I have a girlfriend?”

“Jianwei did. If you didn’t have a girlfriend, do you think I would bring Jianwei and Xiangchen along to make you uncomfortable? I do have some sense!”

Only then did I remember that on the day of Fangyuan’s wedding, I had lied to Jianwei and claimed that Mi Cai was my girlfriend. I never expected that this lie would now feel like a stone I lifted myself, only to drop it heavily on my own foot, unavoidable.

Still stunned, Fangyuan continued, “Actually, it was Xiangchen’s idea to get together. We’ve all been college brothers. Don’t let emotional stuff make things awkward between us… Now that we’re all paired up, getting together should be pretty good, right?”

I didn’t know what to say and just stayed silent.

Fangyuan reminded me again, “Remember to bring your girlfriend along. I heard from Jianwei that she’s unbelievably beautiful. If even Jianwei says so, Yanyan and I really want to see her for ourselves!”

Just as I was about to say something, Fangyuan had already hung up. Listening to the “beep, beep” tone from the disconnected call, I was left completely stunned.

…

Inside the noisy bar, I became restless. Since Fangyuan had said so much, I couldn’t back out now. The problem was all because of my careless words that day when I claimed Mi Cai was my girlfriend. But at that time, I was like a drowning man desperately grasping for a straw, so I could somewhat understand my actions back then. But what should I do now?

After a long period of indecision, I finally decided to call Mi Cai. If she still had a bit of loyalty left, she would surely come to my aid.

I took out my phone, found Mi Cai’s number, but hesitated for a long time before pressing the call button. I clearly remembered that two days ago when I moved out, we had even quarreled because I hadn’t bought insecticide powder. Then she forced me to repay my debts, and I uncomfortably left that guitar behind, practically fleeing in embarrassment. Was it too unmanly to call her now?

“Forget it. Anyway, in her eyes, I’m already a scoundrel. What’s the point of talking about manliness now.”

Muttering to myself, I steeled my nerves, determined to embrace my reputation as a scoundrel, and pressed the dial button.

Listening to the ringing tone, I actually felt nervous. This nervousness was understandable—I was worried that Mi Cai would mock me for my lack of manliness, and even more worried that she wouldn’t come to my rescue in this emergency.

After a short while, the call was answered. I heard Mi Cai’s voice, as serious as ever: “What do you want by calling me?”

“An emergency rescue.”

“Emergency rescue? Are you planning to jump into the river or lake again?”

Mi Cai’s words left me speechless. After a while, I finally said, “This time it’s not about drowning. Do you remember when I told a girl at my friend’s wedding that you were my girlfriend?”

“Do you still dare to mention that?”

I quickly followed up with a sigh, “Ah～～! Exactly that incident has brought me trouble. My friends all want to meet you now, and they’re already on their way. Hurry up and come to Suhe Bar to save me.”

“No one can save someone like you!”

“Please don’t mock me. It’s really an emergency. If you don’t come, I’ll be utterly humiliated today!”

“Who cares about you!”

“I’m begging you, okay?” I pleaded desperately, adopting a posture of submission.

Mi Cai remained unmoved and replied, “You should just hope for the best yourself.”

I got angry: “Are you a reincarnation of the nun Meidie? Don’t you have any sense of chivalry at all… damn, don’t let me see you in Suzhou again…”

The phone was suddenly disconnected. Listening to the “beep” tone of the hang-up, I was completely stunned!